By
Mohd Jailani Nathan
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By
Mohd Jailani Nathan
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Quitter No More
That was Eric 13 years ago. The Eric, whom I came face-to-face with during this interview, was a picture of maturity and cool confidence as he spoke in measured tones about wanting to do something worthwhile for the young people. And as the interview progressed, it became increasingly difficult to connect Eric with his carefree teenage years. But the past was what the recent Masters graduate of the prestigious Imperial College of United Kingdom preferred to think fondly of, as he related his academic achievements. Jolted
from a Slumber But all was not lost. His conscience pricked, Eric started picking up the pieces and enrolled himself in private classes. In 1991, he sat for his GCE ‘O’ levels as a private candidate. A year later, he came into ITE, bent on giving himself another chance. That’s when he discovered the ‘star student’ in him. “For the first time in my student life, I was scoring As in my subjects. I knew that I had it in me to excel in ITE and I thought this could be a way to redeem whatever that I had lost earlier,” laughed Eric, whose excellent results upon graduation from ITE East (Bedok), earned him a Certificate of Merit, an ITE Medal, the Singapore Manufacturers’ Association Medal and a place in the Diploma in Electronics Engineering course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The Polytechnic education, which he underwent after finishing National Service, uncovered more of Eric’s bright talent. In 1999, he graduated with Diploma with Merit and Book Prizes from Sun Microsystems and Mentor Graphics. By then, his parents would have thanked their lucky stars for Eric’s turnaround. “My mum was by my side at both graduation ceremonies. It was refreshing to know that my parents were invited by the institutions this time because of my achievements, rather than my negative acts,” smiled Eric. Next
Goal: A Doctorate Degree Eric, who became a father to little Isaac Chen barely two months ago, presently lectures Electronics Engineering at ITE East (Tampines). He hopes to impact other students’ lives with his story. “Having been close to having your future ruined, I know the dreadful feeling of being aimless. I want to be there when my students yearn for all the help they need,” said the go-getter who sees his lecturing career in ITE as being long term.
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Every
time ITE lecturer, Eric Chen Boon Khai, 29, interacted with his students,
he would be reminded of himself during his younger days - impressionable,
ebullient and immersed in the frenetic pace of life. Unfortunately, unlike
many of his students, who nurse the ambition to be successful in life,
the teenage Eric gave very little consideration to the future and thought
nothing of trading lessons for some frivolous fun. Then, he would be hanging
out with his Geylang Methodist Secondary School friends at bowling alleys
and billiard saloons while classes were still going on. His parents often
received ‘invitations’ to school just to get an earful of
his misdeeds. Finally, he had to leave school at Secondary 3, a hefty
price he had to pay for neglecting his studies.